With the market surging to all-time highs recently, investors are wondering how much better things could get. Large-cap, tech-focused stocks have outperformed in 2020, just as they have for the last five years. Yet small-cap stocks -- defined generally as stocks with market caps under $2 billion -- could be places to look for big gains in 2021. That's because small caps are usually more sensitive to overall economic growth. With the economy recovering from COVID-19, and the Federal Reserve determined to keep short-term interest rates at zero until at least the end of 2023, economic growth should pick up and carry small-cap stocks along with it. Furthermore, while perceived as higher-risk, small companies generally have an easier time growing at higher rates than large companies, due to the law of large numbers. In that light, the following small stocks seem poised for big-time gains in the new year. These small cap stocks could have big time gains in 2021. Image source: Getty Images. Super Micro Computer Silicon Valley-based Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) has a number of things going for it heading into 2021. Super Micro specializes in server and storage systems for enterprise, cloud, and 5G/telco data centers, so it's clearly in a growth industry. Despite 17.4% year-to-date gains, Super Micro Computer is still quite cheap. This may be because the company ran into a few problems in 2017, when an accounting snafu prevented the company from filing timely financials. The stock was delisted from major exchanges in 2018, only to be relisted after fixing those errors in January 2020. Add in a late 2018 controversy that its servers could be hacked by hidden Chinese chips within -- a report that appears to have been incorrect -- and Super Micro's stock fell to bargain-basement levels. That could be why Super Micro's stock only trades at a measly 12.8 times 2021 expected earnings and 8.8 times 2022 estimates. Even that underrates how cheap Super Micro is, as the company also has $264 million in net cash on its balance sheet, or about 18% of its market cap. That seems awfully cheap for a company that could get back to its pre-controversy growth of 20%, as management predicted on the recent conference call with analysts. Management also sees value in the stock, recently initiating a share repurchase program and buying $30 million worth of stock last quarter while authorizing $50 million more. Image source: Getty Images. LendingClub Beaten-down fintech LendingClub (NYSE: LC) may also have big upside ahead, considering that the stock has been absolutely decimated over the past few years. Currently, the loan marketplace stock trades at just a $650 billion market cap, even though its cash and short-term securities alone total $465 million and LendingClub holds additional consumer loans of $270 million. Those loans should still earn a positive return or could be sold. Factoring in about $120 million of debt, LendingClub's net liquidity is about $593 million -- almost the company's entire value. While LendingClub reduced its loan originations by about 90% when COVID-19 first broke out, the company is ramping back up while also cutting costs. That should improve results in the next year as the world gets back to normal. Perhaps most encouragingly, the company's pre-COVID loans are still generating 4% positive returns, seemingly validating the company's underwriting. Post-pandemic loans are projected to return 5%-6%. LendingClub is also on track to close its acquisition of Radius Bank next year -- a digital-only bank that will give LendingClub access to low-cost deposits and other synergies. All in all, LendingClub remains a deep value stock, despite 73% gains in November. U.S. cannabis operators are in for massive growth. Image source: Getty Images. TerrAscend Finally, U.S. cannabis multistate operator TerrAscend (OTC: TRSSF) has a market cap of just $720 million, but could have a bright future. U.S. cannabis stocks have been on fire since election day, when five states passed pro-marijuana ballot measures. The U.S. legal cannabis industry is projected to grow at a whopping 18.1% annual growth rate for the better part of the next decade, according to Grand View Research. Though TerrAscend is relatively small compared to other MSOs, it has a fairly broad reach, with dispensaries in California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The last of these just legalized adult-use cannabis in November. Even better, TerrAscend has one of only 12 licenses in the land of Springsteen. Additionally, TerrAscend has wholesale cultivation facilities in Canada. Last quarter, TerrAscend grew revenue 90% year over year to $51 million. It also posted some of the better margins you might see in the business, with adjusted gross margins of 59%, adjusted EBITDA margins of 35.3%, and even its first quarter of positive net income of $13 million. Management received a huge confidence boost in March, when the company received a CA$80.5 million investment from Canopy Growth Corp (NASDAQ: CGC), one of largest cannabis companies in the world. All in all, with impressive operating metrics and growth prospects, a vote of confidence in management, and the potential for federal U.S. cannabis restrictions to be rolled back in the new administration, TerrAscend looks like a small-cap cannabis stock that could soar in coming years. 10 stocks we like better than Super Micro ComputerWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Super Micro Computer wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of November 20, 2020 Billy Duberstein owns shares of LendingClub, Super Micro Computer, and TerrAscend and has the following options: short January 2021 $5 puts on LendingClub and short January 2021 $3 puts on LendingClub. His clients may own shares of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Source